:leftUniversity of Kentucky President Meets With Lawmakers Over Drop in Diversity
FRANKFORT, Ky.
University of Kentucky President Lee Todd met with a group of state lawmakers last month and apologized to the predominantly Black group for comments made by school officials implying that Black students could not survive academically at UK.
Todd says after a private meeting with six legislators in the Capitol Annex that he was able to correct what he called a “misimpression.” Todd also says he outlined a major minority recruitment effort at the university that includes eight new jobs.
“I had obviously left the impression that African-American students cannot compete if they come to the University of Kentucky,” Todd says. “That was not the impression we wanted to leave. Clearly, African-American students can be successful at UK.”
The meeting was sparked by comments he and other UK administrators made over recent months about the 40 percent drop in Black freshmen at UK this fall. Kentucky got 757 Black applicants, admitted 360, but enrolled only 151.
School officials said this came after back-to-back years in which UK’s Black freshman enrollment grew by 30 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
